Monday, 17 August 2015

This article informs
the current debate about the Sikh religious marriage ceremony of Anand
Karaj.

The Sikh Code of Conduct and Conventions, the Sikh Reht Maryada, allows an Anand Karaj between a Sikh man and a Sikh woman.

A Sikh, as defined by Sikh
Reht Maryada, “faithfully
believes in One Immortal Being, Ten Gurus from Guru Nanak Dev to Guru Gobind
Singh, Guru Granth Sahib, the utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus,
baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru and who
does not owe allegiance to any other religion.”

The above definition
suggests a faith-centred approach to Sikhi, the Sikh way of life. It is focused
on a belief system. Sikh tradition from
the times of the Guru-persons confirms, that it is a broad-based,
river-bank type of approach, which guides all Sikhs in the same Panthic direction.

Unlike orthodox
religions, the essence of Sikhi lies in acceptance of diversity under the large
Panthic umbrella from the Times of Guru personalities.

Therefore, Anand Karaj
is a SIKH
as well as a FAITH ceremony. It
brings together a Sikh man and a Sikh woman before Sri Guru Granth Sahib to
focus on one Guiding Light, the Guru-bani, as the 4 Lava(n) are recited, and repeated
by Kirtan (singing). Sikhi sikhia
(advice) is given about the code of conduct to be followed during married life,
and the couple make a solemn promise to live accordingly together as husband
and wife, and raise a Sikh family.

It is a solemn Sikh
religious ceremony so that the couple can select one path in life and tread
along that path as two bodies guided by the same Guiding Light (as “Ek
jyot doay moorti”).

Guru Nanak Sahib’s
founding ideology evolved through the Sikh institutions to the organisation of
the Khalsa Panth as a distinct way of life. It has its own disciplines and
rites (sanskaars): mainly birth,
marriage, and death, which distinguish the Sikh faith as an independent path. Massive
sacrifices have been made to defend this egalitarian ideology against an oppressive
state, mentored by orthodox religious fanaticism.

Arguments given in
favour of Anand Karaj involving couples from Sikh and non-Sikh backgrounds, range
from mildly amusing to the most absurd.

For some, the only way to save Sikhi is to start by compromising, and even dismantling, Sikh
institutions! One of the most sacred of these institutions is the Anand Karaj sanskaar
(religious rite), which puts a Sikh couple on track for responsible married life as householders,
to bring up children as Sikhs.

Some
refuse to understand that there is no talk here about “Sikhs” of diverse racial
or other backgrounds; or of those communities which always had faith in Guru
Granth Sahib only.

Some argue in favour
of “mixed” (Sikh/non-Sikh) Anand Karaj on
the basis of Bani (sacred hymns) of Bhagats
(saintly people) of different religious backgrounds being honoured in Sri Guru
Granth Sahib.

The founding ideology of
Guru Granth Sahib starts with the Mool Mantar, which is the founding
basis for Sikh miri-piri (temporal-spiritual)
institutions.

The Mool Mantar is
then repeated at the beginning of every Section of Guru Granth Sahib. Such repetition of the Founding Formula of
Sikhi has an ideological reason. It is for
the same reason, that even the selected
Bani of the Bhagats has been qualified by some small but significant
additions to keep returning to the life-affirming, whole-life (miri-piri) theme
of Sikhi based social activism and a path of truthful conduct.

Many forget that not
all Bani of the Bhagats was selected for inclusion in Guru Granth
Sahib. From recent views expressed on
forums, it seems that even many well educated Sikhs do not understand the
reason for this selective treatment of Bhagat Bani, which was to ensure
consistency of the unique message of Sikhi. The Bhagat Bani was selected and
qualified, where felt necessary by the Guru, to ensure consistency with the
unique Sikhi themes. The inclusion of this Bani in Guru Granth Sahib has little
to do with the religious background of the Bhagats.

“
Interfaith Anand Karaj “ is a contradiction in
itself, and cannot be related to the religious backgrounds of the Bhagats in
Guru Granth Sahib.

Some
argue that many Sikhs also have very little knowledge of Sikhi. So, instead of arguing for better educational
arrangements at Gurdwaras BEFORE Anand
Karaj, they argue for Sikh/non-Sikh “Anand Karaj”! All Sikh born children are on the same
religious ladder, albeit, on higher or lower rungs. They should be educated
about the meaning of Anand Karaj before marriage.

There is an argument
that by retaining the faith-based Anand Karaj (i.e. a Sikh marrying a Sikh),
young Sikhs will be driven away from Sikhi and Gurdwaras. Sikh history shows the opposite to be true.

With the
erosion of Sikhi institutions and Gurmat based sanskaars during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikh numbers
were inflated by the perks of Khalsa Raj established by 18th Century Khalsa
Singhs. The moment the Khalsa Raj was no more, there was a drastic reduction in
Sikh numbers until the revival through Singh Sabha movement. Sikh numbers
started increasing again - put it to the army, Sikh military tradition etc, but
the core ideology revived by great Sikh scholars, was the main driving force.

At Gurmat camps
we find that young people do think about such matters. The impression is that it is the large scale erosion of Sikh way of life
and values which in turn may be driving young Sikhs away from Sikhi, in addition
to other influences of modern living.

We can have dialogue
between religions to establish better understanding and to lower the fences;
but I doubt if, unlike "mix" married couples, different religions would be
willing to share the same ideological bed!
The Anand Karaj is a distinctly Sikh institution which has deep faith significance
as taught during the ceremony. Otherwise,
Gurdwaras will always welcome all,
including “mix” married couples.

My personal
view is that only Sikh
tradition can teach us how to survive as Sikhs.

Continual cross
references to other religions may not be the best way forward. The present
excessive negativity is not justified. Since my arrival in the UK 55 years ago
we have always faced challenges and thrived !

Finally, this is a
plea to young Gursikhs who feel that there should reforms in Gurdwara
procedures. I quote from an earlier
article written in another context, “Even when protesting in a democracy, we
need to abide by and influence others through Sikhi values. A few years ago, I
had the privilege of covering a protest by young Sikhs at Trafalgar Square in
response to a challenge by some religious zealots from another community
threatening public conversions. The behaviour of the Sikhs was exemplary and
highly praised by the police and the on-lookers. The protest was totally
effective.” (article on Sikhnet: “Sikh
Tradition of Morchas & Martyrdoms”)

Breaking the law is an
offence and, in addition to lowering community image, legal consequences have
to be faced. To remain peaceful while articulating the mainstream Sikhi viewpoint
is the way to win hearts and minds: to bring about any reforms considered
necessary in consultation with local Sangats and responsible Gurdwara
managements.

Harsh language used by
people in position responsibility or influence, including those in media
positions, even if “metaphorical” is also
regrettable. More so in view of the
background of Sikh lives lost due to “mistaken identity”. They expose the whole Sikh community to
life-threatening danger by using such language.

Meanwhile, Gurdwaras
face a challenge, which is also an opportunity to review practical Sikhi
education in Gurdwaras, including that relating to Anand Karaj.